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Defiant class
Type: Escort Length: 119 meters** Beam: 90 meters** Draft: 26 meters** Mass: 355,000 metric tons Crew: 50 Maximum Speed: Warp 9.5 Armament: 4 Type-X pulse phaser cannons; 2 phaser beam emitters (1 in the nose, 1 behind the bridge on the dorsal surface); 2 forward quantum torpedo launchers; 1 aft photon torpedo launcher Defenses: Deflector shields, ablative hull armor The Defiant class starship was officially classified as an escort, but began development in 2366 as a small, highly-powered, heavily-armed starship intended to defend the Federation against the Borg. The USS Defiant (NX-74205) was the first of what was to be a new Federation battle fleet. Starfleet abandoned the project when the Borg threat became less urgent and after design flaws turned up during the Defiant's shakedown cruise. The Defiant prototype was pulled out of storage in 2371 when the Dominion threat emerged. After several upgrades by Operations Chief Miles O'Brien, the ship was deemed worthy of use and several more ships of the class were constructed. History The Defiant class starship is a heavily armed, limited-role Starfleet vessel, developed in response to the Borg threat. Design and Construction History The USS Defiant (NX-74205) was the class' prototype. It was Starfleet's first true combat vessel, and therefore did not house provision for families or diplomatic missions, no science labs, and no recreational facilities. The Defiant class is a heavily armoured, stripped-down starship that is created as the first strike vehicle for use in war, and incorporated the latest in Starfleet weaponry and defensive technology. As befitted its role, the Defiant is considerably smaller than most other Federation starships. The initial mission of the Defiant did not change radically until late 2370, when intelligence-gathering efforts had come upon the Jem'Hadar problem. In the final year of spaceworthiness testing (2372), the NX-74205 was redirected to starbase Deep Space 9 to become a mobile defensive platform with orders to defend the station, the wormhole, and the planet of Bajor. Early History Once the Defiant prototype had proven itself, Starfleet took the decision to put the Defiant class into production. By the end of 2373, there were a significant number of Defiant class ships in operation, and over the next two years they played a vital role in the Dominion War. Dominion War The USS Defiant was destroyed by a Breen warship in 2375, during the Second Battle of Chin'toka. Another Defiant class ship, the USS Sao Paulo, was assigned to Deep Space 9. Given the USS Defiant's exceptional record under Captain Benjamin Sisko's command the Chief of Starfleet Operations gave a special dispensation to change the ship's name to Defiant. On this ship, the shield generators were completely reconfigured so that it would not be affected by the Breen's energy-dampening weapon. This new Defiant played a distinguished role in the final battle with the Dominion at Cardassia Prime, and remains station at Deep Space 9. Interior There the Defiant is a combat-role only starship, the interior design of Defiant class vessels is very militaristic indeed. Main Bridge The bridge layout of the Defiant is compact, but nonetheless accommodates the familiar engineering, tactical, science, Conn, and Ops stations. The Main Bridge acts as the nerve nectre for this sleek escort vessel, and the entire module is sunken into a much larger Deck 1 than on most Federation starships to provide added protection during combat situations. Access to the bridge is provided by two doorways at the back, located on both port and starboard sides. Just forward of the starboard entryway is the location of the shp's dedication plaque, as well as an auxilary computer access panel. The port side of the bridge houses the Engineering and Tactical I stations, while the starboard side features the Science and Tactical II consoles. Because of its nearly exclusive role as a combat vessel, stations aboard Defiant class vessels are designed with speed in mind. The centre of the bridge features the lone Captain's Chair, which is on a raised platform and has a clear view of all the bridge stations, as well as the main viewscreen. On both sides of the command chair are separate control panels, allowing the occupant access to virtually every system aboard the ship. Between the command chair and the viewscreen is an integrated flight control and operations panel, capable of performing the joint duties of those stations' larger counterparts on other Federation starships. Like all of the bridge stations on a Defiant, the Conn has been designed so that the time in between a command being entered in and the action being taken is close to being instant, allowing for the craft to be handled almost like a fighter when under the hands of a skilled pilot. The Engineering station allows for a direct link to the impulse and warp engines, as well as monitoring of the other various systems vital to the operation of the ship. This single station is capable of mirroring all the readouts and consoles located in Main Engineering, allowing the Chief Engineer or other officer to issue commands from the bridge. Mirroring the Engineering station on the port side of the bridge is the Science station. Normally occupied by the ship’s Chief Science Officer, the panels and readouts on this station allow direct access to the ship’s sensor systems and science labs. Capable of taking high resolution scans of both natural and artificial phenomena, this station plays a vital role during reconnaissance missions. Flanking both sides of the viewscreen are two Tactical stations, which have primary access to the ship’s powerful pulse phaser canons, torpedo launchers and various other special ordinance packages. Working closely with Conn, the officers stationed at these consoles are responsible for firing the various weapons aboard Defiant class vessels during combat operations. The purpose of the Tactical II Station is to lighten the load on its sister station, particularly in battle. Medical Facilities The main Sickbay is located on Deck 2 between the mess hall and science labs. Containing four biobeds, this room serves as the primary crew support facility during emergency situations. The room is equipped with limited surgical facilities and is primarily intended to stabilize patients until they can be delivered to a nearby friendly starbase medical facility. Six stasis pods are located just across the main corridor from the Sickbay facilities, allowing for patients to be stabilized in the event that their ailment cannot be cured aboard the ship. In its limited role as a reconnaissance starship, the Defiant class is equipped with two dedicated science and medical labs for field testing and investigations. These rooms mirror their counterparts on larger Federation starships by making use of scaled down devices that would commonly be found on those ships. Crew Quarters The primary crew-support systems include twenty-two main cabins and ten contingency cabins, each equipped with a minimum of two bunks. These cabins can be outfitted with as many as six bunks, allowing for a potential total crew of 192. Each cabin is equipped with one replicator port and one standard computer terminal. Overall, crew quarters aboard Defiant class vessels are the most spartan when compared to other ships in the fleet. With emphasis towards the tactical systems being the foremost priority in the vessel designers' minds, crewmembers must be prepared to share their quarters with at least one other crewmate during normal times of operation. Only the ship's captain is given his own room on Deck 1, which doubles as an informal Ready Room. Mess Hall Ships of the Defiant-class lack any sort of recreational facilities, and the only place for informal gathering is the two mess hall areas located on the port side of Deck 2. Like all the equipment and materials aboard the ship, the mess hall is spartan and compact. At the head of the room are three open slots that served as dispensers for the replicators. A counter extends from the underside and is used for the placement of trays, mugs and eating utensils. Seating inside the mess hall is provided by four metallic tables arranged in a semicircle at the wider end of the room. These tables are approximately one meter square, and each has four stools connected to its legs. In addition, the mess hall doubles as a makeshift meeting area that could be used to conduct crew briefings and mission profiles. A tall screen panel located on one of the walls can be used as a visual aid to display tactical graphics. Ships of the Class *[[USS Defiant (NX-74205)|USS Defiant]] (NX-74205) *[[USS Sao Paulo|USS Sao Paulo]] (NCC-75633) *[[USS Valiant|USS Valiant]] (NCC-74210) Uncertain ship *[[USS Valiant|USS Valiant]] (NCC-75418) Background Information The Defiant class was designed by James Martin under the direction of Herman Zimmermann and Gary Hutzel. It was built by Tony Meininger. Interior sets supervised by Herman Zimmermann. References *''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual'' *''Star Trek: The Magazine''